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A judge has forbidden Los Angeles teachers from staging a one-day walkout Friday to protest planned layoffs and class-size increases.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant says the restraining order he issued Tuesday will protect the health and safety of students.

The layoffs and class-size increases were approved by the school board in hopes of closing a huge budget deficit facing the nation’s second largest school district.

United Teachers Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy contends the walkout is a way of standing up for students.

District officials say a work stoppage would be illegal, disruptive and dangerous.

So let me get this straight: staging a one-day walkout to protest planned layoffs and class-size increases is considered “illegal, disruptive and dangerous,” but overcrowded schools with fewer teachers isn’t? Bullshit. I think some civil disobedience is in order.

Even if it’s true that the planned one-day protest would violate the terms of the contract the United Teachers of Los Angeles signed with the Los Angeles Unified School District, somebody has to stand up for the students and against the endless funding cuts, lay-offs and overcrowding.

Education should be a priority, not the first thing to get ransacked whenever states are short on cash.